It was a really fun, light, just-what-I-needed read. It was not without it's faults - every once-in-awhile the scene felt a little clunky - but at the same time I just didn't care. It was so much fun and I couldn't put it down.

If I had to characterise it I would say that it had a little of the Lucky Harbour (Jill Shalvis) small town wonderful feel, a little Bridget Jones slapstick/physical/situational comedy (and the inner dialogue comedy, which isn't really a thing, and yet so is) and a little traditional contemporary romance trope.

DId I mention I really loved it?

I couldn't stop myself from quoting entire passages to my sister. I've forever ruined the book for her. She doesn't need to read it because I spent an entire day reading and then recounting every minute thing that occurred/ or every hilarious quip a character made.

If you're in the mood for no angst, quick read, and if it's cheap (this is a must), then there are worse ways to spend a few hours.

cons-If historical accuracy is your thing, this is not your book. The 'movie-like' scene shifts. One minute I'm in a ballroom, the next I'm in the Duke's bedroom, then I'm back to the ballroom, then the morning pallor. I guess the idea was to create an idea or feeling of anticipation or immediacy or urgency. Mostly it just took me out of the book. This is more of a personal dislike, rather than it was 'bad' or 'not well done'. For me there are better ways to show (not tell) urgency. Switching locations isn't one of them. The tropes and romance cliches didn't quite ever make it 100% all the way. Kind of like she started a trope, would try to put her own spin on it... but it just never quite worked for me. With this point, I'm once more willing to concede this is very much a personal preference/reading thing, and might not affect/annoy others like it did myself. You may applaud how original you found it because of the quirks. I would love to label it such, but for me, it just didn't read right.

pros-No hurty hurty angst. The hurty hurty angst is your Laura Lee Guhrke's and your Elizabeth Hoyt's. They are your favourites. Your dream men and fangirl heroines. But you must be in the right frame of mind to read them, for your emotional and mental state of being. Not so this book. Any mood and you could pick it up. It was a light-hearted read. Perfect for a peaceful state of mind. I really liked the characters. At the core they were well developed and entertaining. It had a lot of potential. My cons can be easily addressed (the chopping scene locations, tropes that didn't quite work) with a different editor. It was cheap.

Ultimately I'd advice you pick it up for a filler book IF you can find it reasonably priced. Reasonably priced means different things to different people, so I wont name an actual figure. I live in Australia and own a Sony eReader. I will pay more for a ebook 90% of the time than if I had a Kindle or lived in a more ebook friendly country. So reasonably priced for me, possibly means something different for you.

I'm... disappointed in this latest instalment of the Lucky Harbor series.

While it still contained the quirky banter and feel-good romance of her previous books, Shalvis just missed base with this book. I spent the first 2/3 of the book confused as to Jack and Leah's stance relating to their relationship (or non-relationship in this case). Every time they conversed about their relationship they seemed to contradict the position they had at the beginning of the conversation. Jack and Leah also seemed to agree that there was no relationship, they didn't want a relationship and there would be no relationship. I kind of had to ask myself what the point of the conversation was. Everyone agreed - no relationship. So why did that scene just take up a chapter of this book?

I got pretty confused.

And a wee bit annoyed.

I waited and wanted this couple.

I wanted to like this couple.

So 1 star for the first 2/3 of the book and an extra 2 stars for the last third of the book. The last third gets it's shizzle together. It's tight, people have conversations and stick to the position they took at the start of the conversation, Jack and Leah pick a self-esteem issue and stick to it (finally making sense in the process). Oh and the arsonist plot actually showed up. It was tight writing, great character growth and a good plot... too bad it was only a third of the book.

Sorry Lucky Harbor, but I'll be back because one not so great book doesn't deserve a jumping off of the plank.